Cubs’ Jason Heyward ‘better’ but not likely to return from concussion in Atlanta

ATLANTA – Cubs right-fielder Jason Heyward, who was eligible to return from the 7-day concussion disabled list Monday, has shown improvement in recent days, but Maddon doesn’t expect him to be activated before Friday’s opener of the Cubs’ series in Cincinnati.

“He’s feeling much better,” Maddon said after Heyward worked out a few hours before the game Tuesday. “He’s just got to go through the normal protocol, but he’s doing good.

“He came in, and we spoke, and he actually came in bright-eyed, and more normal stuff,” Maddon added. “It’s good to see.”

Jason Heyward | John Antonoff/For the Sun-Times

Heyward was injured when he hit his head on the right-field wall trying to catch Dexter Fowler’s walk-off home run May 6 in St. Louis.

Roster move

Outfielder Mark Zagunis, who went 2-for-5 during his six days in the majors over the past week, was optioned back to Class AAA Iowa to make room on the roster Tuesday for pitcher Yu Darvish to return from the DL.